Albany, NY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature have agreed to tell the public how much taxpayer money the state gives to each movie and television show.

The agreement is written into the new state budget.

For years, the state hid the tax credits from the public and the issue is the subject of a recent investigation in The Post-Standard.

The state is giving away $420 million a year to film and television studios without saying how much each project benefits. The money goes to blockbuster movies and to NBC for New York City-centric shows such as Saturday Night Live and Law & Order. NBC and the film industry combined have donated at least $1.1 million to New York political campaigns since the program started in 2004, the newspaper’s analysis shows.

The governor’s film office said the information was an industry trade secret that could damage the companies’ ability to market the movie to investors and advertisers. The newspaper argued the information is not a secret in the eyes of the state’s public records laws.

This year’s budget extends the tax credit program for five more years and boosts the tax credit to 40 percent for films made in Upstate NY. Elsewhere, the state gives a tax credit worth 30 percent of qualified spending.

The governor agreed to a two-year economic impact study and more transparency because it gives accountability to the program, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.

“These steps will help protect the state’s investment and ensure the integrity of the program,” he said.

State Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, called for more transparency along with more money for Upstate.

Starting this year, the state will have to disclose the name, location, amount of tax credit and number of credit-eligible man hours associated with each project, Cuomo's staff said.

E.J. McMahon, senior fellow for the conservative fiscal policy group the Empire Center, has said that ending the tax credit for films would reserve money for more permanent state tax reforms. He calls it corporate welfare for a favored industry.

He said the decision to release tax credit amounts for each film is a moral victory for transparency and accountability.

"We can only hope that more details on the projects getting these subsidies will make our politicians at least a little less shameless about giving so much away," McMahon said.

Under the new rules, it should be possible for taxpayers to know how much it cost the state if it uses the tax breaks to bring 'The Tonight Show' back to New York. The new state budget also expands the film tax program to include talk shows as part of an effort to lure the show to back to the state.

Cuomo's office also recently announced 'The Amazing Spider-man 2' would be filmed in both Upstate and Downstate NY. The film office said it would be the largest movie to be made in New York and the company cited the tax breaks as a reason for the choice. A chase scene is expected to be filmed in Rochester.